This invention pertains to joint support devices, and, in particular, to an air pressure knee brace apparatus which allows the user to protect and support the knee with the amount of pressure that the individual can set by himself or herself.
Many types and designs of knee braces are currently on the market. There have been many different devices that have been patented. Examples of these tripods include the U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,698 to Horst Kleylein for a Knee Orthosis, issued on Oct. 20, 1987 and the United States Patent issued to Oris E. Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,912 for a Knee Protector/Stabilizer issued on Jan. 17, 1984. Both of these devices are knee support devices that have a stretchable material which surrounds the knee and a different number of means to tighten the device as necessary, but neither these devices, nor other references show a device which has a pre-determined shaped annular unit surrounding the kneecap or patella and can simply have the pressure in the annular pad changed as desired. What is needed is a lightweight support that an individual can easily fold and store and, at the same time, be readily accessible for use quickly and simply.
Clearly, it is desirable for a device of this type to be very lightweight and flexible. At the same time, the device should be easy to manufacture and be produced of inexpensive material. It is an object of this invention to set forth an air pressure knee brace apparatus which avoids the disadvantages, previously mentioned limitations of typical knee braces.